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The Third Thaw
Mankind forced to relocate to a different habitable environment, light years from Earth. A group of young people on a distant planet who must re-establish human civilization. A fantastical yet realistic world based on plausible technological developments. A power-mad egomaniac determined to destroy anyone who gets in his way. This is The Third Thaw, a hard science fiction novel that presents a radically different strategy for planet colonization, one within the grasp of present technologies. In a settlement called New Eden, live a group of teens known as the Third Thaw. They come from Earth, conceived there and sent as frozen embryos on a rocket ship to this planet twenty-six light years away, a journey that lasted 80,000 years. When they reach the age of twenty-one, after being thoroughly and specifically educated for their future tasks, the Third Thaw must leave New Eden to assist with colonizing a larger, permanent settlement on the planet. After the First and Second Thaws fail to complete their expedition, it’s up to the Third Thaw to succeed and save civilization. As the highly-trained expedition party heads out to fulfill their tasks, they encounter life-threatening obstacles in their way, many of which challenged the Thaws that preceded them. Not the least of these is a group broken off from a German colony sent from Earth years earlier. This group and their leader, Ulrich, believe they are evolved beyond ordinary humans. Ulrich, along with his supercomputer “Genius,” is determined to destroy the Third Thaw. And anyone else who threatens to stop him.
392 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 22, 2018
13 people are currently reading
54 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 22, 2019
As a science teacher, I was recommended this book from a science education newsletter, and my husband bought it for me for Christmas. I’ve since, while reading it, recommended it to my accelerated 8th grade students as a great storyline with accurate science information explained in a relatively easy way. Sometimes it gets a little complicated, but it is sound. Sometimes there are editing errors with sequence, spellings, and punctuation, but overall it is well done. Now I’m hoping for a sequel!
March 30, 2019
The Third Thaw is an intriguing distant future yet familiar novel that spans several genres, from coming of age to New Adult to mildly science fiction fantasy. The summary explains the story quite well. If you like Lord of the Flies combined with some of Ray Bradbury’s robotic parent-teacher tales, you’ll find The Third Thaw enjoyable. A little rough start with formal language eventually smoothed out into a very nicely written, engaging story. One aspect I was surprised about was that the children raised in New Eden are virtual innocents, not even taught about adult relationships, then expected to go forth and populate their new world, but there were a number of twists that kept me turning pages. The story is an intriguing tale about potential societal development when attempting to start from scratch. I wanted to read this story as I worked on my book, Parhelion, that revolves around a similar theme of starting a new civilization from scratch and was glad to note we each have our own fresh perspective.
February 22, 2019
Imagine, if you will, that the human race is facing annihilation. Not from war, or global warming, or alien invasion, but from an asteroid striking Earth. And now imagine that asteroid is not striking in the distant future, when our technology allows for faster-than-light travel, but in the near future. And humanity only has ten years to prepare. How would you save the human race?
In The Third Thaw, a hard science fiction novel, author Karl J. Hanson postulates that we could save the human race by sending embryos to make the thousands-year journey to another hospitable planet. Hanson originally wrote about this hypothesis as DCEngineer in response to the 2010 NBC News article, "Ride a starship? Not for a century." After he received encouragement from others, he expanded this idea into his debut novel.
The Third Thaw follows a group of teens into young adulthood as they traverse the unknown (unnamed planet) in which they were born (well, incubated). Born in New Eden, they must travel to another colony established a couple of years before theirs: New Munich. But the journey is long and filled with life-threatening dangers. Not all of them will make it to New Munich alive. And even once they get there, not everything is what it seems.
Hanson uses the form of the novel to teach his audience a lot about biology, virtual reality, engineering, and early life on Earth. Instead of choosing to create brand new life forms, he models life on this new planet after life on Earth in the Devonian period. While no explanation is given, the characters hypothesize that it's because life on this planet evolved strikingly similarly to life on Earth. It is a small thing to suspend disbelief over, and isn't the first book to propose convergent evolution (such as humans/humanoids evolving on different planets).
I felt like the science and technological marvels in this novel were portrayed in a clear and concise manner (though there is a lot of it in every chapter). Of course, I have a bachelors degree in biology, and a minor in chemistry, so I already have a foundational knowledge of a lot of the topics discussed. Still, I don't pretend to know near everything that was discussed in this book. Judging by how easily I followed topics I had no knowledge of (such as engineering, virtual reality, and steam engines), I think I can say with a good amount of confidence that most readers will not be lost in scientific lingo.
And what about the story? I would call The Third Thaw part sci-fi, part frontier, part textbook (though an actually interesting textbook). It's also an ensemble piece.
While these differing parts work well together, I do feel that the ensemble piece is the weakest. There are supposedly fifteen people in the Third Thaw (the third group of embryos incubated and raised in New Eden), but at one point I only counted nine names and never noticed any other ones (until new characters were introduced later in the novel). We readers follow, mainly, Horst, Adam, and Ingrid. These characters are fairly well developed. However, the others in the Third Thaw (the group, not the book) come in and out of the book when needed for the plot. I don't even know if there were only nine Third Thaws that made it to adulthood, or if there were just some that weren't named, kind of like background scenery (something I've heard called shield bearers, though I can't remember where).
But this is really nitpicking. Ensemble pieces are hard. I mean, really hard. I commend Hanson for writing an ensemble piece, and I congratulate him on focusing most closely on three characters (two more than the third). Because of that, he does well when instead he could have left the reader with a confusing mess.
The story itself is good. It kept me engaged (especially when I had time to read for longer than five minutes). The Third Thaws go through several different challenges, some natural and some technological. One particular challenge had me chuckling. Along the way, one member of the company becomes pregnant. No one knows she's pregnant, not even her. No one knows people become pregnant. Each of the Third Thaws has received one-on-one education using VR programs about topics people on Earth determined would be necessary for them to survive on a brand new planet, and no one on Earth (at least in America) thought it might be wise to give each person sex ed. I guessed the pregnancy before the pregnancy was revealed, and when it was, I just couldn't help chuckling. It was humorous and touching all at once.
Aside from that, I really enjoyed how much the Third Thaws (at least the ones we really got to know) worked together to get to New Munich. They grew up as one big family, though without a traditional family structure, and they grew closer through each trial. With their careers and contributions to society chosen before birth, based on what their parents/grandparents had been on Earth, they each had to communicate clearly and work together to arrive safely in New Munich. I did wonder how Hanson would address the fact that talents and desires don't always run in families, and he does. To say how would be to give too much away, but I am glad to see that Hanson doesn't just force every one of his characters into predetermined traits, which would imply that each human is only best at one thing or another.
If you enjoy hard sci-fi that uses technology within our reach today, if you like stories reminiscent of the Westward Expansion (without all the problems with uprooting indigenous peoples), and if you enjoy learning about science and technology (without it the dryness of a textbook or an article in a scientific journal), then I recommend The Third Thaw.
This review was first published on elliereadsblog.wordpress.com
In The Third Thaw, a hard science fiction novel, author Karl J. Hanson postulates that we could save the human race by sending embryos to make the thousands-year journey to another hospitable planet. Hanson originally wrote about this hypothesis as DCEngineer in response to the 2010 NBC News article, "Ride a starship? Not for a century." After he received encouragement from others, he expanded this idea into his debut novel.
The Third Thaw follows a group of teens into young adulthood as they traverse the unknown (unnamed planet) in which they were born (well, incubated). Born in New Eden, they must travel to another colony established a couple of years before theirs: New Munich. But the journey is long and filled with life-threatening dangers. Not all of them will make it to New Munich alive. And even once they get there, not everything is what it seems.
Hanson uses the form of the novel to teach his audience a lot about biology, virtual reality, engineering, and early life on Earth. Instead of choosing to create brand new life forms, he models life on this new planet after life on Earth in the Devonian period. While no explanation is given, the characters hypothesize that it's because life on this planet evolved strikingly similarly to life on Earth. It is a small thing to suspend disbelief over, and isn't the first book to propose convergent evolution (such as humans/humanoids evolving on different planets).
I felt like the science and technological marvels in this novel were portrayed in a clear and concise manner (though there is a lot of it in every chapter). Of course, I have a bachelors degree in biology, and a minor in chemistry, so I already have a foundational knowledge of a lot of the topics discussed. Still, I don't pretend to know near everything that was discussed in this book. Judging by how easily I followed topics I had no knowledge of (such as engineering, virtual reality, and steam engines), I think I can say with a good amount of confidence that most readers will not be lost in scientific lingo.
And what about the story? I would call The Third Thaw part sci-fi, part frontier, part textbook (though an actually interesting textbook). It's also an ensemble piece.
While these differing parts work well together, I do feel that the ensemble piece is the weakest. There are supposedly fifteen people in the Third Thaw (the third group of embryos incubated and raised in New Eden), but at one point I only counted nine names and never noticed any other ones (until new characters were introduced later in the novel). We readers follow, mainly, Horst, Adam, and Ingrid. These characters are fairly well developed. However, the others in the Third Thaw (the group, not the book) come in and out of the book when needed for the plot. I don't even know if there were only nine Third Thaws that made it to adulthood, or if there were just some that weren't named, kind of like background scenery (something I've heard called shield bearers, though I can't remember where).
But this is really nitpicking. Ensemble pieces are hard. I mean, really hard. I commend Hanson for writing an ensemble piece, and I congratulate him on focusing most closely on three characters (two more than the third). Because of that, he does well when instead he could have left the reader with a confusing mess.
The story itself is good. It kept me engaged (especially when I had time to read for longer than five minutes). The Third Thaws go through several different challenges, some natural and some technological. One particular challenge had me chuckling. Along the way, one member of the company becomes pregnant. No one knows she's pregnant, not even her. No one knows people become pregnant. Each of the Third Thaws has received one-on-one education using VR programs about topics people on Earth determined would be necessary for them to survive on a brand new planet, and no one on Earth (at least in America) thought it might be wise to give each person sex ed. I guessed the pregnancy before the pregnancy was revealed, and when it was, I just couldn't help chuckling. It was humorous and touching all at once.
Aside from that, I really enjoyed how much the Third Thaws (at least the ones we really got to know) worked together to get to New Munich. They grew up as one big family, though without a traditional family structure, and they grew closer through each trial. With their careers and contributions to society chosen before birth, based on what their parents/grandparents had been on Earth, they each had to communicate clearly and work together to arrive safely in New Munich. I did wonder how Hanson would address the fact that talents and desires don't always run in families, and he does. To say how would be to give too much away, but I am glad to see that Hanson doesn't just force every one of his characters into predetermined traits, which would imply that each human is only best at one thing or another.
If you enjoy hard sci-fi that uses technology within our reach today, if you like stories reminiscent of the Westward Expansion (without all the problems with uprooting indigenous peoples), and if you enjoy learning about science and technology (without it the dryness of a textbook or an article in a scientific journal), then I recommend The Third Thaw.
This review was first published on elliereadsblog.wordpress.com
January 29, 2019
This is an excellent science fiction novel including a plot which is riveting, plenty of action and loads of scientific details far surpassing the depth of any other sci-fi work that I’ve ever read in terms of the author’s knowledge of the subject at hand. I was transported into an imaginary world of frozen embryos being sent to another solar system which ... one never knows ... could one day possibly happen!
I am very much looking forward to reading tbe second part of Karl J. Hanson’s trilogy.
I am very much looking forward to reading tbe second part of Karl J. Hanson’s trilogy.
February 4, 2019
This is page-turning tale for young and old readers alike who enjoy their science fiction grounded in scientific, technological, and sociological fact. It is eye opening in terms of its creative ideas regarding not only how to improve upon humankind's quality of life, but also curbing the destructive powers of man-made pollution, and over-harvesting of natural resources.
August 7, 2019
I read this as part of /r/fantasy's book bingo challenge. I suggest you do not do the same.
In writing, there is often a saying that 'you should write what you know.' In this book, this was something taken to the extreme. You can tell that the author knows his stuff... in a very narrow window.
It seems that every structural engineer and their family, friends, and coworkers have been shilled this book, sometimes even by the author himself. This is the path where I received it. You're not 'one of them' until you have read it. Well, now I am a 'one of them,' and it was certainly... an experience.
Set in year million, humanity's only hope to avoid annihilation via asteroid (or meteor) is sending embryos into space to an Earth-like planet, where they will recolonize the universe or something like that. The book follows the third generation of embryos thawed (aka, the third thaw) and their planet-sprawling adventures.
Complaint #1: Despite there being 15 members of the third thaw, we only get into the headspace of 5 of them (and that's being generous). Viewpoint is very erratic and shifts mid-paragraph, making it difficult for the reader to understand what is going on. A simple fix for this is focusing on a character each chapter, even if it just was the five characters we only hear from. It maintains the diversity of viewpoints but makes it understandable and manageable. Additionally, this could be spread out to the 15 members of the Thaw, because it really felt that while I got to know the 5 viewpoint characters well, I could honestly not tell you the other 10 people's names.
Complaint #2: Sensitive topics, including race, religion, and sex. These topics are not handled well at all. The book could have, at the bare minimum, included a sensitivity reader. Yes, it's cool that there are PoCs in the book but... like, if you're going to include the hard-hitting topics about race and have 14-y/os discuss it, you can have it be more than a paragraph. Or at least have internal monologuing.
Complaint #3: (On the topic of sex): IF YOU ARE SENDING EMBRYOS WITH THE EXPLICIT PURPOSE OF RECOLONIZING HUMANITY, AT LEAST PUT SEX ED IN THEIR CURRICULUM. Yes, teens will experiment. But you should at LEAST give them a heads-up to, oh, idk, PREPARE them if A goes in B, C might come out.
And like, sex and having kids SHOULD be a choice. You should not be responsible for repopulating humanity. Consent, y'all.
Don't get me started on the spheres of influence. It gets better, but not by much.
Complaint #4: In some stories, a civilization looks oddly like some, say, 15th-century analogue with slightly modified names and places. Hanson just throws this out the window and says, yes, totally, the dinos that you see are the actual dinos that Earth had blah-billion years ago. At least use your imagination!
Complaint #5: Infodumps. There are a lot of them. They probably make up 25% of the novel. And before you think they're just in the first ~20%, no, there was an infodump in the last part of the book, because we needed to know the in-depth history of how the German and English languages diverged.
Complaint #6: Some books, like the Terra Ignota series, make language integration cool. You can tell when another person is speaking another language but it doesn't ruin immersion. Well, if you want to be immersed, go pass a German 101 class, because the last third of the novel, there will be dialogue in German. Yes, thankfully, it is translated into English at the end of the sentence, but there's nothing quite like reading dialogue and having zero comprehension.
Complaint #7: There is a whole plot thread nixed. At the beginning of the story, we get a viewpoint character of a modern guy living and after his chapter, he kind of just never really appears, except in the VR mode. You would think that following the political (and world) drama of a potential meteor/asteroid striking would make for good reading. (Check out Ken Liu's "Mono no Aware" for this). Unfortunately, this never happens.
Complaint #8: Every SF fan's favorite "A" world: allegory. (Sorry ansible fans, better luck next time!)
New Eden. Adam. HMMMMMM.
German dude. Has an army of robots under his control. HMMMMMMM.
(Female) pianist who believes in a higher power. (Male) engineer who believes in the power of science and reason. HMMMMMMM.
I'm tired from complaining. If I had more time, I could probably wring it out more (robots, pacing, and other things come to my mind). But I'm tired of complaining and you're probably tired of me complaning. So, some of the decent parts.
The book isn't all awful. It has a plot, although pacing is an issue. The viewpoint characters are defined and not 2D. While there are spelling and grammar issues, they are few and far between and don't detract from the overall reading experience. It's short compared to the usual chonk fare, coming in at around 300 pages. And it includes a bibliography, so all you Peter Watts fans will feel at home.
If you think this is up your alley, this will qualify you for the AI square, local author for Illinois and Colorado (US), Ocean, and possibly self-pubbed. It's either that or an indie publisher,and I'm not bothering to do the research.
In writing, there is often a saying that 'you should write what you know.' In this book, this was something taken to the extreme. You can tell that the author knows his stuff... in a very narrow window.
It seems that every structural engineer and their family, friends, and coworkers have been shilled this book, sometimes even by the author himself. This is the path where I received it. You're not 'one of them' until you have read it. Well, now I am a 'one of them,' and it was certainly... an experience.
Set in year million, humanity's only hope to avoid annihilation via asteroid (or meteor) is sending embryos into space to an Earth-like planet, where they will recolonize the universe or something like that. The book follows the third generation of embryos thawed (aka, the third thaw) and their planet-sprawling adventures.
Complaint #1: Despite there being 15 members of the third thaw, we only get into the headspace of 5 of them (and that's being generous). Viewpoint is very erratic and shifts mid-paragraph, making it difficult for the reader to understand what is going on. A simple fix for this is focusing on a character each chapter, even if it just was the five characters we only hear from. It maintains the diversity of viewpoints but makes it understandable and manageable. Additionally, this could be spread out to the 15 members of the Thaw, because it really felt that while I got to know the 5 viewpoint characters well, I could honestly not tell you the other 10 people's names.
Complaint #2: Sensitive topics, including race, religion, and sex. These topics are not handled well at all. The book could have, at the bare minimum, included a sensitivity reader. Yes, it's cool that there are PoCs in the book but... like, if you're going to include the hard-hitting topics about race and have 14-y/os discuss it, you can have it be more than a paragraph. Or at least have internal monologuing.
Complaint #3: (On the topic of sex): IF YOU ARE SENDING EMBRYOS WITH THE EXPLICIT PURPOSE OF RECOLONIZING HUMANITY, AT LEAST PUT SEX ED IN THEIR CURRICULUM. Yes, teens will experiment. But you should at LEAST give them a heads-up to, oh, idk, PREPARE them if A goes in B, C might come out.
And like, sex and having kids SHOULD be a choice. You should not be responsible for repopulating humanity. Consent, y'all.
Don't get me started on the spheres of influence. It gets better, but not by much.
Complaint #4: In some stories, a civilization looks oddly like some, say, 15th-century analogue with slightly modified names and places. Hanson just throws this out the window and says, yes, totally, the dinos that you see are the actual dinos that Earth had blah-billion years ago. At least use your imagination!
Complaint #5: Infodumps. There are a lot of them. They probably make up 25% of the novel. And before you think they're just in the first ~20%, no, there was an infodump in the last part of the book, because we needed to know the in-depth history of how the German and English languages diverged.
Complaint #6: Some books, like the Terra Ignota series, make language integration cool. You can tell when another person is speaking another language but it doesn't ruin immersion. Well, if you want to be immersed, go pass a German 101 class, because the last third of the novel, there will be dialogue in German. Yes, thankfully, it is translated into English at the end of the sentence, but there's nothing quite like reading dialogue and having zero comprehension.
Complaint #7: There is a whole plot thread nixed. At the beginning of the story, we get a viewpoint character of a modern guy living and after his chapter, he kind of just never really appears, except in the VR mode. You would think that following the political (and world) drama of a potential meteor/asteroid striking would make for good reading. (Check out Ken Liu's "Mono no Aware" for this). Unfortunately, this never happens.
Complaint #8: Every SF fan's favorite "A" world: allegory. (Sorry ansible fans, better luck next time!)
New Eden. Adam. HMMMMMM.
German dude. Has an army of robots under his control. HMMMMMMM.
(Female) pianist who believes in a higher power. (Male) engineer who believes in the power of science and reason. HMMMMMMM.
I'm tired from complaining. If I had more time, I could probably wring it out more (robots, pacing, and other things come to my mind). But I'm tired of complaining and you're probably tired of me complaning. So, some of the decent parts.
The book isn't all awful. It has a plot, although pacing is an issue. The viewpoint characters are defined and not 2D. While there are spelling and grammar issues, they are few and far between and don't detract from the overall reading experience. It's short compared to the usual chonk fare, coming in at around 300 pages. And it includes a bibliography, so all you Peter Watts fans will feel at home.
If you think this is up your alley, this will qualify you for the AI square, local author for Illinois and Colorado (US), Ocean, and possibly self-pubbed. It's either that or an indie publisher,and I'm not bothering to do the research.
August 15, 2019
An excellent sci-fi book based on real science. The young people of "New Eden" are being groomed to colonize a remote area on a planet other than earth. They learn everything the old fashioned way, farming, crafting, tools making, etc. even if they have e-books instead of paperback due to storage issues. Their "Guardians" are found to actually be robots who accompanied them to this place to raise them. Interesting concept and the author really shines a light on how they would use and develop technology. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I'm not a huge sci-fi fan.
September 12, 2018
Some of my favorite reading is hardcore sci-fi, where worlds are constructed in which we are given enough fodder to believe in their credibility. This is one of them. Hanson presents an odyssey in which an asteroid threatens Earth so a new beginning is required. The human race gets kick-started (hopefully) on a far-distant planet. After voyages of 80,000 years, colony ships arrive and disperse the necessary materials to 'start from scratch'. There's an interesting twist to the generation-ship format (where hundreds of generations live out lives aboard their ships in order to deliver the final generation to the destination etc). Here, frozen embryos of humans and animals and seeds are sent along, to be thawed at 5-year intervals and raised by robotic parents, then sent out to begin other settlements. Wagon train to the stars indeed! It's a variation of the travails of the American pioneer migrations, and an engrossing subject. By the third thaw, they seem to be getting it right.
What is most enjoyable here are the packets of details offered. As pure science fiction, this is something for the science-minded reader, not for the lasers and space wars fans. This is not just about immigration, but exploration and what that usually involves. Hanson writes his story in a completely basic style, hence it's an easy-to-read narrative. Just the same, it is like a 309-page dissertation or thesis on what is required to homestead another planet. The main character, Adam, tells us what he sees and feels and he and the others ask a lot of questions. Scientific explanations are offered on many different topics, from evolution of life to the development of technology to the operation of the human senses and perception. There is no doubt that this is a sci-fi tale lightly disguised as an instructional book for younger readers, surrendering little 'information dumps' to the inquiring mind. Not exactly standard space-faring fiction, but that's the point, I think, and that's why I give him these stars. Perhaps we need more instructional sci-fi if we're ever to consider starting something new. Hanson, a structural engineer, has added to that small but important trend.
What is most enjoyable here are the packets of details offered. As pure science fiction, this is something for the science-minded reader, not for the lasers and space wars fans. This is not just about immigration, but exploration and what that usually involves. Hanson writes his story in a completely basic style, hence it's an easy-to-read narrative. Just the same, it is like a 309-page dissertation or thesis on what is required to homestead another planet. The main character, Adam, tells us what he sees and feels and he and the others ask a lot of questions. Scientific explanations are offered on many different topics, from evolution of life to the development of technology to the operation of the human senses and perception. There is no doubt that this is a sci-fi tale lightly disguised as an instructional book for younger readers, surrendering little 'information dumps' to the inquiring mind. Not exactly standard space-faring fiction, but that's the point, I think, and that's why I give him these stars. Perhaps we need more instructional sci-fi if we're ever to consider starting something new. Hanson, a structural engineer, has added to that small but important trend.
October 14, 2018
Hanson has managed to capture the technological concerns of establishing a new civilization on a planet with social commentary and weave it into a phenomenal story. I was confronted with thoughts that had never occured to me in prior sci-fi novels I’ve read. You watch the characters such as Horst, Hansel, and Ingrid grow from children. As a reader, you are learning and discovering right along with them. I was so enamored with everything Hanson thought to include in his story. When you think about sending mankind to an uninhabited planet to escape mass extinction, you have to start from scratch. These children are forced to discover Earth’s history, and decide for themselves how they will create their new civilization. Between emerging technologies, basic survival, human nature, and a power struggle, this sci-fi has something for everyone. I could not put it down. And I am very sad it is over.
November 9, 2018
Karl's extensive research into the science and engineering aspects of the plot makes the futuristic technology more believable. I like that the ending sets-up the next book. I also like the acknowledgement and further reading sections after the end, which give an interesting behind the scenes look at the writing process.
October 25, 2018
Karl has created a very interesting future world. Now I have to wait to see what develops next.
September 27, 2022
Great Colonization Book
I really enjoyed this read. My favorite Sci Fi genre, is any books dealing with colonization of new planets. This book was spot on and put a whole different way to transport people 80,000 light years into the future. You will need to read the book to learn more. I hope Mr. Hanson will come out with another book and take over where this one left us hanging.
Wayne
I really enjoyed this read. My favorite Sci Fi genre, is any books dealing with colonization of new planets. This book was spot on and put a whole different way to transport people 80,000 light years into the future. You will need to read the book to learn more. I hope Mr. Hanson will come out with another book and take over where this one left us hanging.
Wayne
October 20, 2020
Interesting concept ruined by uninteresting characters and constant reflections of Earth science. DNF @45%
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews